The Reno City Council went into meetings on Wednesday with initial recommendations to either sell the Lear Theater, auction it off, or take no action.
After multiple people expressed interest in helping revive it, the council voted on a fourth option to continue the discussion.
Alicia Barber, a historian who participated in public comment during the meeting, says, "They'll try to start planning a summit, a Lear summit. We'll try to get everybody on the same page and figure out what the next steps would be, if we want to open up requests for proposals to anyone for the building, or if we really want to take advantage of the fact that it's owned by the city, now trying to shepherd the building to its preservation."
Council originally considered selling to a woman named Gina Hasler, who expressed interest in it through a letter, but after Barber expressed her interest during public comment and shared other possible solutions, the council decided it would be best to hear more from the public.
Hasler and Barber are now both partnering with the city to help organize future meetings regarding the building.
The Lear Theater, also known as the First Church of Christ Scientist, was built in 1939.
It was designed by African American architect Paul Revere Williams.
The building is on the city's historic register, the state's register, and even the national register of historic places.
Throughout the years, and through several ownerships, Barber says the theatre continues to hold a lot of meaning and significance in our community.
"It's such an architectural treasure," she said. "It also holds such cultural significance to our community, in particular to the African American community, because of the African American architect who was such a prominent architect who designed it, but to all of us it is a beautiful, beautiful 1930s historic structure."
The next discussion for the Lear Theatre is scheduled in the Historical Resources Commission meeting in October.
